Riot
by justawanderingdragon
Summary: Ever since the dragon raids stopped, the people of Berk have enjoyed their new-found peace. Unfortunately, there is always something or someone that will threaten to destroy it.


Hiccup didn't even have time to react before he was shoved roughly into the wooden wall. He barely was able to gasp a breath before she pushed his shoulder—hard—and leaned in, menacingly. Hiccup had never seen Astrid this furious. She glared and glowered at him, eyes alight with a raging blue fire. Her hand was settled threateningly on the hold of her battle axe. When she was mad, the shieldmaiden was a spark in dry woods; one wrong move and the scape would be ablaze. Although he had grown a bit in the past few months, Astrid still held a few inches to her advantage. And admittedly, it frightened Hiccup.

"A pawn!" she shrieked. "You beat me with a pawn!"

Hiccup could only give a goofy grin as she ranted on, "SOMEHOW—I don't know how—you cheated! I have _never _lost a game of chess _in my life!"_ Astrid stomped over to the board and wiped it clear with her a slash of her hand, knocking the pieces all over the room. The queen went flying towards Hiccup's face and hit him below the eye.

"Ow," he managed to blurt, rubbing his eyes, before continuing, "Oh, come on, don't be a sore loser!" Comfort wasn't really Hiccup's strong spot. It was made even worse by the fact that he was trying to hold back childish giggles. Astrid looked _ridiculous._ Scary, but ridiculous. Her face was rose-red and she looked ready to throw a painful punch at whoever tried to get in her way.

She scowled at him, arms crossed. "And besides, since when are you good at chess?"

"Well, I actually haven't been practicing that much lately, since we're busy with the academy and all. To be fair, I've been going easy on y—" Hiccup's unintentional boast was cut short by a slug to the arm. _"Oww…"_ Board games were seemingly a lot more violent than Hiccup remembered.

Her eyes flickered to him before she silently turned to pick up the battered chess board. Hiccup inched away slowly from his livid girlfriend and started to gather the game pieces into the palm of his hand. They continued together in a hushed agreement until the wooden board and its every accomplice lay in a wicker basket.

As Hiccup heaved the basket onto a shelf, Astrid walked outside. Hiccup followed closely behind, his shoulder grazing the doorframe. Astrid was standing under the great carved head of a Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup joined her side.

It was a routine they did every day; tolerate each other. They tolerated the other's antics because they loved each other. It was not a tolerance that would someday end up in an explosion, but the tolerance you receive from loved ones when you screw up.

The blonde sighed, smiled, and tapped Hiccup lightly on the head. It wasn't enough to cause any pain, but Hiccup jokingly went along with the routine. "Hey, what was that for?"

Astrid turned to him and said, "That's for beating me at chess, and this—" she hugged him tight. "—is for everything else."

After Hiccup had recovered her embrace, he said, "What else? It's been raining all day and we've had nothing to do!"

Indeed, Berk's weather was living up to its reputation. The heavens had descended upon Midgard, coating the sea and land in a thick pre-winter fog. No one could tell if the rain was coming out of the sky or the ground itself; everything was damp. Just damp. If one were to walk out onto the docks, their clothes would be soaked instantly without feeling the sensation of rain on skin.

In fact, the oddly cool humidity was starting to make Hiccup's hair cling to his forehead. He wiped the moisture off like sweat and turned to Astrid. "Do you want to play again?"

She scoffed and shook her head. "No way."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Then what do we suppose we do?"

"I don't know. Aren't you the one who's supposed to make up the ideas?"

Hiccup considered the thought. His green eyes lit up soon after, as if he had an idea. Astrid loved Hiccup's ideas, she loved hearing about them and was proud of him when they worked out. However, she was still getting used to the way his mind's wires were crossed in an entirely Hiccup-esque pattern. Sometimes, his crazy schemes and plans were unintentionally tossed outside her comfort zone. He grinned mischievously and asked, "Wanna go for a ride?"

Astrid didn't look at him, but nodded nonchalantly. "Mmm-hmm. Twenty-third time today you've asked that." When Hiccup glanced at her, she spat, "I _told _you I would count! Besides, it's way too foggy to go flying; we'd probably end up hitting a rock!"

"Come on!" he pouted. "Nothing ever happens on rainy days! Everyone's too scared to do anything, so they stay inside. For once, let's _make something happen!_ Let's go on an adventure!"

"Well," she said softly. Shouting matches and heated debates made it even more difficult to sway Hiccup's opinions; in fact, they seasoned them. "Maybe there's a reason that people stay indoors when it's _wet_ and _slippery _outside. Ever thought of that?"

Stubbornly sticking to his argument, Hiccup fell to silence.

The rain continued to fall in small droplets of water and showed no sign of stopping soon. There were no animals at the edge of the forest, not one bug in the air or on the ground, not a single bird swooping in the sky, no one at all out in this weather. Except Hiccup. Hiccup and Astrid, who were sitting out on the former's doorstep together. And who is to say they weren't happy with their positions?

"I still want to do something."

Astrid looked up at his quiet voice. Hiccup was looking at the ground. He didn't really look sad, as one might assume, but there was definitely something in his eyes. Wistfulness, she decided. Or wanderlust. Some sort of flighty passion that grabs ahold of the mind like a parasite and does not let go. Not that the victim would ever want it to, because once you are restless, you can never sit still again. Your heart pounds at the thought of adventure and your mind races over thoughts and dreams that you _know_ will never be accomplished.

Or at least, that is what Astrid guessed it was. She had never felt the pang of homesickness for a place she had never gone or understood what made some ghastly terror seem so inviting. But maybe Hiccup did. And if he did, she pitied him.

Hiccup looked so pathetic sitting there that Astrid could not help but feel sorry for him. She put an arm around his shoulder. "We could play chess again," she suggested.

"Sure. Fine." he responded, but made no effort to move from his spot. Astrid looked on. Then he stood up. "I said fine! Let's go!" Hiccup bounded over to the table while Astrid fetched the board and its pieces.

Hiccup was clearly in no rush anymore—agitated still—but not in a hurry. He took his time setting up the game; several minutes to be exact. "Oh would you hurry up?" Astrid snapped.

Eventually, with the chessboard set up, the two sat down to play again. There was an unexpected jolt and the game pieces when flying! "Did you jolt the table?" Astrid asked.

"No," responded Hiccup, looking just as surprised as she. "It wasn't me."

"Then what was it?"

Numerous loud crashes and other sounds of chaos outside seemed to answer Astrid's question, along with various shrieks of a long-unspoken but long-dreaded phase: _**"DRAGON RAID!"**_

**Disclaimer: HTTYD belongs to Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks**

**I know! I know it's short! Really, it's just the first chapter. :P I didn't have much planned for this one, anyways (it's only one scene). However, this fic itself I have HUGE plans for!**


End file.
